The My Lai Massacre

AI True Crime: The My Lai Massacre

On March 16, 1968, soldiers of Charlie Company entered the Vietnamese hamlet commonly known as My Lai expecting to encounter Viet Cong forces. Instead, American soldiers killed hundreds of unarmed civilians, including women, children and elderly people. The killings were followed by false reports, failed investigations and an attempt to portray the operation as a military success.

In this episode of AI True Crime, we examine the massacre itself, Lieutenant William Calley and Charlie Company, the extraordinary intervention of helicopter pilot Hugh Thompson and his crew, the Army's initial response, Ronald Ridenhour's effort to expose what happened, Seymour Hersh's reporting, the Peers Inquiry, the court-martial of Calley, and the enormous gap between the scale of the crime and the punishment that followed.

Sources and Further Reading

Report of the Department of the Army Review of the Preliminary Investigations into the My Lai Incident, Volume I — The Peers Report

The Army's extensive investigation into the massacre, the command structure surrounding it and the failure of earlier investigations. The Library of Congress provides the complete report online.

https://www.loc.gov/item/74603407/

The Peers Inquiry of the Massacre at My Lai — Library of Congress

Library of Congress catalog and digital access to material from Lieutenant General William R. Peers' investigation.

https://www.loc.gov/item/97042604/

Investigation of the My Lai Incident — U.S. House Armed Services Investigating Subcommittee

Congressional investigation into the massacre, including testimony and examination of the Army's response.